BAKU: Federal Minister for Climate Change and Environmental Coordination Musadik Malik on Sunday told the World Urban Forum that climate change was no longer merely an environmental challenge but a “crisis of justice” disproportionately affecting poor and vulnerable communities living in cities across Pakistan.

Delivering Pakistan’s national ministerial statement at the World Urban Forum in Baku, Azerbaijan, the minister painted a grim picture of urban inequality, climate vulnerability and inadequate housing, warning that millions of Pakistanis were being pushed deeper into poverty by floods, heatwaves and collapsing urban infrastructure.

Malik recalled an image from the devastating floods in which a child stood holding a torn notebook beside his father after their home had been washed away in one of affected province across the country.

“Two generations of efforts, probably, washed away because the housing stock was not resilient,” he said, adding that such disasters trap vulnerable families in cycles of poverty that may take generations to escape.

Calling for urgent global action, the minister said the housing crisis facing developing countries should be viewed through the lens of justice rather than charity.

“This is not a housing crisis; this is a crisis of justice,” he told delegates at the forum.

The minister said Pakistan’s rapidly growing urban population was becoming increasingly exposed to climate shocks, with nearly half of the country’s 240 million people now living in cities. Of those, he said, around 55 million people were living in slums under inadequate housing and crumbling civic infrastructure.

“Slums are not a policy category; slums are a life category. Real people live in these slums,” he said.

Describing the living conditions faced by low-income families, Malik spoke of households of six to eight people sharing two-room homes without reliable electricity, sanitation or safe access to schools and healthcare facilities.

He said climate change had intensified the crisis, particularly in urban centres such as Karachi, where temperatures during a 2024 heatwave reached 47 degrees Celsius.

Referring to data collected by a welfare organisation involved in transporting bodies to hospitals, the minister said approximately 560 bodies were moved during a seven-day period amid the heatwave.

“Who died? The poor died. The most disenfranchised died,” Malik said. “Not the affluent living in apartments and homes with air conditioning.”

The minister also highlighted the devastating impact of repeated floods in Pakistan over recent years, saying around 6,000 people had died while nearly 20,000 others had been injured or permanently disabled.

He added that approximately 40 million people had been displaced during major flooding events, warning that the long-term consequences extended beyond physical destruction to education losses and social disruption.

“If children miss school for 90 days, about 1.8 billion school days are lost,” he said.

While acknowledging that governments had initiated federal, provincial and municipal-level projects to address housing and climate resilience, Malik admitted that affordable housing continued to be treated as a welfare measure rather than a fundamental right.

“We should not build housing for investors; we should build housing for the people,” he said.

Calling on global leaders to ensure that the “Baku Call for Action” addresses inequality and housing speculation, the minister urged policymakers to prioritise climate-resilient and inclusive urban development.

“At the end, when we talk about housing, the real question is: housing for whom?” he asked. “Do we truly mean everyone?”